By R.L. Bynum
For the second consecutive season and 14th time in program history, North Carolina will host early-round games in the NCAA women’s tournament.
The tournament committee revealed the 16 hosts on ESPN on Saturday afternoon, and the No. 15-ranked Tar Heels (14–4) were on the list, delivered in alphabetical order, as well as No. 8 Duke (24–8), the ACC regular-season and tournament champion, and No. 13 Louisville (27–7). The UNC team didn’t know it was a host until seeing the announcement on ESPN.
It’s the first time Carolina has hosted in back-to-back seasons in 11 years, and first time under Coach Courtney Banghart. UNC hosted when it made the Elite Eight in 2013–14 and also in 2014–15.
“They were not in the first two reveals, but finished the season pretty strong,” ESPN’s Charlie Crème said on the reveal show. “Beat Duke in the regular-season finale, and then got to the ACC tournament semifinals. They only had one quad win for a big stretch of February, and then started to accumulate them late in the season.”
In Creme’s Saturday morning projection, he incorrectly projected the Tar Heels as a No. 5 seed and playing early-round games in Minneapolis. This is a switch from recent years, when Creme has consistently projected UNC as a higher seed than the committee gave it.
UNC’s NET ranking is 19, and its WAB ranking is 15.
The Tar Heels, who won 13 of their last 15 games, won’t know which teams will come to Chapel Hill or whether their first game will be Friday or Saturday until the entire field is revealed at 8 p.m. Sunday on ESPN.
UNC’s late-season surge included Quad 1 victories at N.C. State and Virginia, and a home win over Duke.
Last season, the Tar Heels beat Oregon State 70–49 in a first-round game at Carmichael Arena on March 22 and topped West Virginia 58–47 on March 24 in the second round to advance to the Sweet 16.
Carolina is 24–1 in NCAA games at Carmichael Arena.
Fans can purchase all-session tickets here.
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16 NCAA women’s tournament hosts
Duke — Durham (24–8)
Iowa — Iowa City, Iowa (26–6)
Louisville — Louisville, Ky. (27–7)
LSU — Baton Rouge, La. (27–5)
Michigan — Ann Arbor, Mich. (25–6)
Minnesota — Minneapolis, Minn. (22–8)
North Carolina — Chapel Hill (26–7)
Ohio State — Columbus, Ohio (26–7)
Oklahoma — Norman, Okla. (24–7)
South Carolina — Columbia, S.C. (31–3)
TCU — Fort Worth, Texas (29–5)
Texas — Austin, Texas (31–3)
UCLA — Los Angeles (31–1)
UConn — Storrs, Conn. (34–0)
Vanderbilt — Nashville, Tenn. (27–4)
West Virginia — Morgantown, W.Va. (27–6)
| Date | Day/month | Time | Opponent/event (current ranks) | TV/ record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | ||||
| 30 | Thursday | L, 91–82 | No. 4 South Carolina in Atlanta | Exhib. |
| November | ||||
| 3 | Monday | W, 90–42 | vs. N.C. Central | 1–0 |
| 6 | Thursday | W, 71–37 | vs. Elon | 2–0 |
| WBCA Challenge Las Vegas | ||||
| 13 | Thursday | L, 78–60 | vs. No. 2 UCLA | 2–1 |
| 15 | Saturday | W, 82–68 | vs. Fairfield | 3–1 |
| ——————————— | ||||
| 20 | Thursday | W, 85–50 | at N.C. A&T | 4–1 |
| 23 | Sunday | W, 94–48 | vs. UNCG | 5–1 |
| Cancun Challenge Cancun, Mexico | ||||
| 27 | Thursday | W, 83–48 | vs. South Dakota St. | 6–1 |
| 28 | Friday | W, 85–73 | vs. Kansas State | 7–1 |
| 29 | Saturday | W, 80–63 | vs. Columbia | 8–1 |
| December | ACC/SEC Women’s Challenge | |||
| 4 | Thursday | W, 79–64 | at No. 3 Texas | 8–2 |
| ——————————— | ||||
| 7 | Sunday | W, 82–40 | vs. Boston Univ. | 9–2 |
| 14 | Sunday | L, 76–66, OT | vs. No. 13 Louisville | 9–3, 0–1 ACC |
| 17 | Wednesday | W, 84–34 | vs. UNCW | 10–3 |
| 21 | Sunday | W, 93–74 | vs. Charleston Southern | 11–3 |
| 29 | Monday | W, 90–38 | at Boston College | 12–3, 1–1 ACC |
| January | ||||
| 1 | Thursday | W, 71–55 | vs. California | 13–3, 2–1 |
| 4 | Sunday | L, 77–71, OT | vs. Stanford | 13–4, 2–2 |
| 11 | Sunday | L, 73–50 | at No. 22 Notre Dame | 13–5, 2–3 |
| 15 | Thursday | W, 73–62 | vs. Miami | 14–5, 3–3 |
| 18 | Sunday | W, 82–55 | at Florida State | 15–5, 4–3 |
| 22 | Thursday | W, 54–46 | at Georgia Tech | 16–5, 5–3 |
| 25 | Sunday | W, 77–71, OT | vs. Syracuse | 17–5, 6–3 |
| February | ||||
| 2 | Monday | W, 61–59 | at N.C. State | 18–5, 7–3 |
| 5 | Thursday | W, 53–44 | vs. Clemson | 19–5, 8–3 |
| 8 | Sunday | W, 84–56 | vs. Wake Forest | 20–5, 9–3 |
| 12 | Thursday | W, 94–42 | vs. SMU | 21–5, 10–3 |
| 15 | Sunday | L, 72–68 | at No. 8 Duke | 21–6, 10–4 |
| 19 | Thursday | W, 66–63, OT | at Virginia Tech | 22–6, 11–4 |
| 22 | Sunday | W, 78–50 | vs. Pittsburgh | 23–6, 12–4 |
| 26 | Thursday | W, 82–70 | at Virginia | 24–6, 13–4 |
| March | ||||
| 1 | Sunday | W, 72–69 | vs. No. 8 Duke | 25–6, 14–4 |
| ACC tournament | Gas South Arena, Duluth, Ga. | |||
| 6 | Friday | W, 85–68 | Quarterfinal vs. Va. Tech | 26–6 |
| 7 | Saturday | L, 65–57 | Semifinal vs. No. 13 Louisville | 26–7 |
| NCAA tournament 1st two rounds in Chapel Hill | ||||
| 21 | Friday | 5:30 p.m. | First round: vs. Western Illinois | ESPN News |
| 23 | Sunday | TBA | (With win) Second round: No. 17 Maryland or Murray State | TBA |
| 27, 29 or 28, 30 | Fri., Sun. or Sat., Mon. | TBA | Fort Worth 1 Regional | TBA |
| April | ||||
| 3, 5 | Fri., Sun. | Final Four Phoenix | ESPN (Fri.); ABC (Sun.) |
Photo courtesy of the ACC
